Madison Bikes

Bike network progress

Tonight at the Transportation Policy and Planning Board there will be a progress report on how the bike network expanded in 2020 and how it will grow in the future. In 2020, Madison got 3.6 new miles of bike lanes and paths; in 2021 we will get 7.7 miles, including the Garver Path, buffered bike lanes on W Wash, and a protected bike lane on Broom St. See the whole list here. Other topics on the agenda: A planned freeway expansion of the Beltline and several items regarding bus rapid transit.

Loop the Lake 2021

Our friends from the Clean Lakes Alliance are hosting their annual Loop the Lake fundraiser. You can either bike around Lake Monona at any time between June 12 and 20, or join the main event on June 19, starting at Olbrich Park. More info here.

Let’s Talk Streets

Several city initiatives around transportation, safety, and how our streets work are underway at the moment: Vision Zero (focused on eliminating traffic deaths and injuries), Complete Green Streets “for everyone, no matter who they are or how they travel,” and others. Public engagement is really important to these initiatives, and in order to not burn out the public with several separate engagement processes for each initiative, the engagement process is going to be unified. It starts off this week, and you can choose between virtual meetings either at 5pm on Tuesday or noon on Wednesday. Sign up here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/transportation/initiatives/lets-talk-streets

We want to know what you think about the streets you use to work, live and play in the City of Madison. What do you value about our city streets, what worries you, and what type of street user are you? How can the City design streets around people? The purpose of Let’s Talk Streets is to learn from each other about how we design streets for the future in Madison. It’s a conversation with YOU that seeks to gather public input to influence several different street-related initiatives while ensuring you know what we mean when we “talk streets” and we learn from you what is important about how you talk streets.

Bike camping on the shortest night of the year

The summer solstice is coming, and Black Saddle Bikes is hosting a bike camp-out at Brigham County Park. Depart Madison on Saturday, ride to the park and camp, and bike back the following day.

Dangerous by design?

There have been reports of two bike crashes in the past week. One involved a collision of two people biking on the SW Path overpass of the Beltline. According to reports, the collision happened in one of the turns, possibly with one of the people riding outside of their lane. Visibility is limited there because of the tall fence and a tree, and several people reported having had close calls there. We reached out to the city to see if any safety improvements can be made.

Another notorious location for bike crashes is the crossing of the Cap City Trail at Syene Rd. In 2016, a person driving on Syene Rd struck Cheri Maples on her bike, eventually leading to her death. Several other injury crashes have happened in the years since. The area is currently under reconstruction, and minor improvements of the crossing appear to be included.

“Cannonball”?

On our Facebook group, someone asked how the Cannonball Path got its name. It didn’t take long for our board member Grant to post the correct answer:

For many years there were two passenger trains and two or more freight trains traveling the line each way daily. The “Cannonball” freight train, pulling a passenger coach, left early in the morning from Lancaster and returned from Madison late in the day.

http://www.friendsofmilitaryridgetrail.org/history-of-trail.html

This didn’t stop other from spinning yarns about alternative explanations: Maybe there is a brotherhood that “sets up a cannon at an undisclosed location along that path and absolutely smokes a random cyclist passing by. If they survive, they are permitted to join the brotherhood.” Or was it named after “John J. Cannonball,” an early bike advocate who in 1920 tried to prove that high-wheeler bikes were superior by racing from Dodgeville to Madison, ending in the collision with a cow…? No, it’s really named after a historic train run.

Did you have a chance to enjoy this year’s Ride the Drive? The event, usually on John Nolen Drive, happened at a few neighborhood streets. Folks shared photos from the event in the Madison Bikes Community Facebook.

I missed Ride the Drive this year, as I was traveling to Salt Lake City, UT (yes, it felt weird to travel!). In many ways, Salt Lake is similar to Madison – a big college down, similar populations, and a capitol city. They’re also lucky enough to have BCycle (“Green Bike”), a regional light rail system, and frequent buses, all of which I used to get around. Traveling always makes me see my home in a new light. For example, SLC’s roads – even those in neighborhoods – were wide and fast, yet I saw cyclists on nearly all of them. I didn’t see any off-street paths, but for someone like me, that wasn’t necessarily a downside: I like to ride on streets so I can easily find my destinations. SLC, despite its wide roads and sprawl, seems to be changing for the better.

I like to use vacations as a way to communicate about biking with others. After all, when you’re traveling to a new city, enjoying the sights on foot or on wheels is often pleasurable and desirable. We can use these experiences to help our neighbors see their city through the lens of possibility: what if our city felt like that, for everyone?

Advocacy Meetup

Speaking of advocacy…would you like to join other Madison Bikes community members for a casual yet productive conversation about advocating for biking in Madison? Register here. Folks who are new to advocacy, organizing, and biking are especially welcome!

This Week

Wednesday

On Wednesday at 5:30, the Transportation Commission will meet, but it’s a fairly internal-facing agenda, mostly focused on updates and work planning.

Thursday

From 4:30-6:30 at Garver Feed Mill, Bcycle will unveil its Art Bikes! Twenty bikes will be presented by local artists, not-for-profits, and businesses.

Saturday

Ride with BikEquity this Saturday at 11 at Penn Park!

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Last Week

After a fairly contentious discussion at the Transportation Commission, the Commission voted to recommend the Cedar Street plan that implements buffered bike lanes along the entire stretch of the new street. Hopefully this plan is ultimately implemented by the council. The Cedar Street alternate plan involved adding only five (5) parking spaces at the expense of the buffered bike lanes. Those few additional parking spaces would create much worse conditions for people biking on the street. Both Cedar Street plans involve the exact same street profile, the only difference is the inclusion of five parking spaces at the expense of a year round all ages and abilities bike lane. If it is later determined that those five parking spaces are really necessary then the street can be restriped. It is much easier to add street parking than it is to remove it. This is likely not the last time we will hear about those five parking spots on Cedar Street, so be sure to look out for future advocacy opportunities!

This Week

After a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19, this Saturday June 5, Sunday, June 6, from 9AM to 12PM, Ride the Drive is back! This year’s Ride the Drive is, however, different than any other RtD to date. The biggest difference between this year’s Ride the Drive and previous years is the fact that it’s not going to be on John Nolen Drive. Instead, there will be four smaller Ride the Drive routes scattered across the city. I’ll briefly touch on what is at each location, so click here for complete details for what will be available at all locations!

The first route I’ll mention is the one closest to downtown. That route is near Wingra Park. This route starts in Wingra Park at the end of Knickerbocker St with free bike safety checks by Dream Bikes and Erik’s Bike Shop.

The second route I’ll mention is in Marlborough Park, on Madison’s south side. Marlborough Park is located just west of Seminole Hwy south of the beltline. There will be free safety checks by Wheels for Winners at the park. Bikes will also be available courtesy of Bike Equity for this ride.

The third ride I’ll mention is on Madison’s east side, just north of Cottage Grove Rd. Safety checks at this ride will be provided by Trek and Freewheel.

The fourth and final Ride the Drive Route this year will be at Warner Park in Madison’s north side. Bike safety checks at this location will be provided by Dream Bikes.

Regardless of which Ride the Drive ride piques your interest, we hope to see you there!

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Madison was recently Awarded Gold status as a walk friendly community, which is just another reminder that we live in one of the most awesome cities in the US! I think this award shows we are making progress towards a more walkable city, but of course there is always more work to be done 😉

City alders and transportation engineering took another step in the right direction when they choose two neighborhoods (Tenney-Lapham and Hammersley-Theresa) to pilot the new 20 is Plenty initiative to reduce car/ped crashes in residential neighborhoods by reducing the speed limit to 20mph. I’m very excited about this because my kids bike to Lapham School and slower cars means more kids will feel comfortable biking or walking to school.

Madison’s Ride the Drive event is quickly approaching on Jun 6th from 9am to 1pm and they are still looking for volunteers (2-hr shifts). This is a great city wide event to encourage biking particularly those who don’t often bike. The event will be held at 4 different city parks:

Monday, May 17th

Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB) is meeting at 5pm and their agenda includes an update on the Complete Green Streets initiative. If you are unfamiliar this initiative, I recommend you take a look at the presentation to view map overlays of the city focused on identifying how out transportation system serves our community and where we should focus efforts to improve. Its really great to see how our city leaders are taking steps to dramatically change how transportation projects and users are prioritized.

Another item on the TPPB agenda is the Parking Research and Policy Overview, which is a short overview of how Madison ordinances currently encourage car ownership by subsidizing free parking. This is part of the broader topic of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and changing our local laws so that some of the hidden costs of car parking is supported more by drivers.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Although we’ve had some ups and downs in temperature, there are clearly more people moving around by bike. Whether it’s seasonal riders hauling the bike out of the garage and pumping up the tires, newly-vaccinated people being out and about more, or just friends and families being more visible on bikes, the two-wheeled traffic is obvious. 

I always love to see people of all shapes, sizes, ages, clothing styles, abilities, family types, economic backgrounds, and destinations traveling by bike. It makes me happy to see people on bikes going by, chatting with each other, clearly just using their bikes to go about their daily lives. No big deal, except that it is a big deal that it is so normalized in Madison. 

Lots going on this week that will affect how we move through the city and what types of transportation we prioritize. Your participation and voice is why we’ve made the progress we have, but we still have a long way to go until everyone feels comfortable using a bike all year and everywhere. 

The week ahead

Wednesday

The Transportation Commission will consider reviving the Shared Streets program for the summer. last year the city limited motorized use of some residential streets to local users in order to open up the street to people walking, biking, using other non-motorized transportation, as well as activities like socializing, playing, and just enjoying the public right of way in ways that are difficult or impossible when one has to “watch out for traffic.” 

This program also includes creating a dedicated, protected bike lane on Atwood in front of Oblich Park. The justification is that the shared sidewalk is too narrow to be shared with pedestrians. Very true, but probably true all year, and not just in summer. This section is a big gap in the bike network, since the bike lanes on Monona Dr end at Cottage Grove Rd when you are headed north. 

Currently, the following streets are proposed to be part of the program: Atwood, West Shore and South Shore, Sherman, Darbo, E Mifflin, Darbo, and Fisher.

As always, some letters, emails, or testimony in favor of this program would be helpful. And maybe some encouragement to make some of the street changes permanent. 

Also on the TC agenda:

• Discussions of the “20 is Plenty” program to pilot lowering the speed limit on some residential streets to 20 MPH. This is a test program, and the city hasn’t decided where and how many streets will have the lowered speed limit. 
• Consideration of traffic calming for Wheeler Rd
• Ped/bike enhancements (projects) for 2021
• Updates from a subcommittee on whether the traffic calming program should be modified or changed. 

As always, you can watch the meeting online, register to speak on any item, and/or send comments. Go here to find out how and when to access the meeting (and see the full agenda and all the details on the items above.)  

Also Wednesday, Parks Commission will consider of an interim traffic management plan for Vilas Park Dr until the new master plan can be implemented in a few years.

Last year Vilas Park Dr was closed to through motor vehicle traffic as part of the Shared Streets program. This was very popular with pedestrians, bicyclists, and many other park users, as the current configuration of the road means all users either have to share the paved roadway or walk/bike on makeshift gravel areas along the side of the road. 

It looks like they are considering two options, but both require bicyclists to share the road with motorized traffic. Tjhey would also remove some parking spots. 

Thursday

The Plan Commission will have a special meeting to begin the process of passing a citywide change to how transportation impacts are considered in development review. This is something that I worked on for other cities before I retired (as did Mayor Satya before she was elected), and I’m very excited that Madison is finally moving forward on this initiative. 

I’ll write more about this concept at a later date, but this will mean facilitating biking, walking, and transit — as well as simply encouraging fewer and shorter motor vehicle trips — will be required as part of the city development review for all new developments over a certain size. The city will better link transportation and land use in city policy. Land use and transportation have always been linked, but not always explicitly considered as we reviewed new developments. You can tune in to hear the discussion and access the documents for the meeting here. 

Saturday

Bike Rodeo in the Allied Neighborhood. These events help kids learn to ride safely and also help them get their bikes in good shape for the summer. There is also an option to connect families with free bikes if they need one. As of this writing (Monday morning), there are still a few volunteer slots that need to be filled. You can go here to sign up to help. 

All month

Don’t forget to sign up for the Madison Love to Ride May Bike Month Challenge. You can sign up to be part of the Madison Bikes group/club. Or, sign up with your friends or workplace group. Why sign up and log your rides? It helps city, state, and national officials see how important bicycling is to you and the whole region. It’s an incentive for those who might need a little push to get out and bike — no one on this list, I’m sure. Help your friends get on their bikes by signing up and riding with them — or maybe competing. And you might win a prize in the drawing.  

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

The Transportation Policy and Planning Board is meeting tonight. On the agenda are a proposal for the City to build a new parking garage at Villager Mall to support the Urban League’s new Black Business Hub, a presentation on Metro’s future fare collection system (spoiler: staff doesn’t recommend going fare free), and a presentation by City Engineering on the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), which lays out mayor road and path projects for the next 5 years. One new addition to the TIP is the plan for a new bike path connecting Old Sauk Rd across the Beltline to the employment and commercial centers in the Deming Way area.

Buffered Bike Lanes on Whitney Way

At their meeting last week, the Transportation Commission approved a slew of Vision Zero projects, including a new buffered bike lane on Whitney Way. Currently people on bikes have to share the curb lane with parked cars, and this new design will create a new low-stress bike connection on this important north-south corridor.

Mountain Biking for High Schoolers

Do you live on the west side of Madison or in Verona and have kids in 6th-12th grade? Are they riding mountain bikes, or are curious about riding? The Madison West Area MTB Teams are holding a virtual meeting on Tuesday, May 4 at 7pm. A Zoom link is available on the Facebook event page.

Come and discover the lifelong joy of mountain biking! Our co-ed teams serve 6th-12th grade students, beginner to advanced, casual riders to racers, in the west Madison and Verona area. Join us for an introductory meeting for parents and potential athletes and learn more about the fun, confidence and community that mountain biking can provide. We work with girls and boys riding at all levels. Some of our athletes ride only at practices and maybe an adventure outing or two. Others find that they love racing with their team. We welcome all interest and ability levels!

May Bike Month Challenge

Is it really May already? It must be, as the annual Madison May Bike Month Challenge has just started. Log your rides, join a workplace team or the Madison Bikes Love to Ride group, and have fun all month! More details at https://www.lovetoride.net/madison

Dane County 2021 Road Construction

Fellow Madison Bikes update writer Ben points out some upcoming road construction projects in Dane County that are on popular bike routes:

“[This is the] the 2021 Dane County road project list: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=5e28a536e6064ae99f3592c123621c6b&entry=8
Looks like the biggest highlight overall will be whatever the M changes are from Governor Nelson to 113 are. I clicked through some of the links and nothing super-recent.A few personal highlights that might be of interest for roadies headed out exploring west and south this summer.

• Repaving County Highway B north of Oregon (very commonly used on rustic road loops through Oregon, connecting from Cap City Trail)
• Repaving County Highway A SW of Oregon between D and MM (pretty useful road connecting some alternate quieter N/S roads)
• Repaving and widening County Highway G, adding 3ft paved shoulders, between Mt. Vernon and US 151
• Repaving KP between Kross [sic] Plains @ US 14 to WI 19, slightly widened to include 1ft paved shoulder
• Both F and J S/SW of Black Earth are going to be closed to through traffic due to bridge replacements. This will be annoying, particularly as they will be concurrent closures. Detours are long and everything is hilly out there.

I can personally vouch for the dire state of pavement on many of these repaving roads so overall I’m pretty happy to see the work being done!”

Thanks, Ben! Click on the map link above to get an overview of where the projects are located.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Beautiful weather coming this week, including a very summery Tuesday. Hopefully you were able to join us at our Spring Bike Wash event to get your bike ready for some rides (or your winter bike ready for storage). Thank you to all of the volunteers for helping and to Board Member Peter Taglia for hosting and doing so much of the planning work to make this event a success!

Apply for Grants!

We’re excited to be part of this exciting new grants program, specifically for projects that are led by and benefit People of Color and/or people from Tribes/Native Nations. The JUST Bikes Coalition invites individuals and organizations that would like to contribute to local, neighborhood-based efforts to support equity in active transportation, with a special focus on safe and comfortable access to bicycling. Learn more, share with your networks, and apply soon!

This Week

Monday

Join the Madison Bikes Board of Directors for our Bike Week planning session on Monday (4/25) at 6 pm. Help us set goals, create a planning timeline and brainstorm new, fun events. Bike Week will take place September 12-18, 2021.

Wednesday: Transportation Commission!

This week at Transportation Commission, a number of important issues are up for discussion. First, Vilas Park Drive’s reconfiguration will be up for discussion. We support removing car traffic from the road entirely – a strategy already proven by the Shared Streets program last year. Second, Whitney Way is also up for some incredible improvements, including a buffered bike lane. We highly encourage you to write or speak in support of these efforts to get us closer to a city where people of all ages and abilities can bike to every destination they need, regardless of where they live.

(Note: you can get a sense of the kind of feedback you can give the Commission by clicking on the link in the agenda about this item [Vision Zero], which will lead you here. People write in with varying level of detail and certainly a lot of personality! Your vocal support really does matter.)

Sunday

Bombay Bicycle Club is hosting an open house at Garner Park.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.

Spring is in full swing with trees budding and flowers blooming. To help emerge from the winter season, Madison Bikes is hosting a Spring Bike Wash and Safety Check. This event will take place Saturday, April 24, from 1 PM to 5 PM at Clark Ct, near Brittingham Park. Volunteers from Madison Bikes, Down With Bikes, Dream Bikes, BikEquity, and Wheels for Winners will be on site to assist with safety checks. Cleaning supplies, tools, and lube will also be available for use. Learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/events/785154002417389/

Also this week, the Madison Vision Zero Initiative is bringing a presentation on the 20 is Plenty campaign to two city committees: the Transportation Policy and Planning Board (TPPB), and the Board of Public Works (BPW). 20 is Plenty is a campaign to reduce the default speed limit on city streets from 25 mph to 20 mph. Injuries that result from a crash grow exponentially more severe with speed, so lowering speed limits should help save lives. The 20 is Plenty slides can be seen here. TPPB meets Monday at 5:00 PM, and BPW meets Wednesday at 4:30 PM. Both meetings are taking place virtually.

This Monday’s TPPB meeting also has a presentation on Complete Green Streets. Topics for this presentation include pre-design engagement and gap analysis approach. Pre-design engagement in projects is about reaching out to communities where a project is proposed to get a sense of what that community wants. The gap analysis approach is how to approach gaps in the low stress pedestrian and bicycle network.

As always, you can find an overview of all bike events on our Community Bike Calendar. Email us at info@madisonbikes.org to add your events. And if you value our newsletter and other work, consider donating to Madison Bikes. For construction updates, check out the city’s Bike Madison page.